Grammar Check!

Here’s part of a wire service report on last week’s announcement by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels that he would not be running for president. We all make grammatical mistakes. So what? But when you’re issuing one of the most important statements in your career, better take extra care to make sure it’s right. You don’t want voters to think they dodged a bullet! (On the other hand, maybe it’s part of his folksy persona?) In any case, here’s the statement:

WASHINGTON —

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said early Sunday that he won’t run for president because of family concerns, a development that narrowed the Republican nomination field though made the wide-open race even more uncertain. “In the end, I was able to resolve every competing consideration but one,” the Republican said, disclosing his decision in a middle-of-the-night e-mail to supporters. “The interests and wishes of my family, is the most important consideration of all. If I have disappointed you, I will always be sorry.”

A two-term Midwestern governor, Daniels had been considering a bid for months and was pressured by many in the establishment wing of the party hungering for a conservative with a strong fiscal record to run. He expressed interest in getting in the race partly because it would give him a national platform to ensure the country’s fiscal health would remain part of the 2012 debate.

But he always said his family — his wife and four daughters — was a sticking point.